Multileaf spinach

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a spinach plant which carries a genetic determinant that leads to the multileaf trait and which plant has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is obtainable by introgression from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. The invention further relates to progeny of the plant as well as propagation material, in particular seeds, for the production of plants that carry the multileaf trait.

RELATED APPLICATIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation-in-part application of international patent application Ser. No. PCT/NL2011/050577 filed 25 Aug. 2011, which published as PCT Publication No. WO 2012/026814 on 1 Mar. 2012, which claims benefit of NL patent application Ser. No. 2005279 filed 26 Aug. 2010.

The foregoing applications, and all documents cited therein or during their prosecution (“appln cited documents”) and all documents cited or referenced in the appin cited documents, and all documents cited or referenced herein (“herein cited documents”), and all documents cited or referenced in herein cited documents, together with any manufacturer's instructions, descriptions, product specifications, and product sheets for any products mentioned herein or in any document incorporated by reference herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference, and may be employed in the practice of the invention. More specifically, all referenced documents are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual document was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new type of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) plant. The invention further relates to cells of these plants and to seeds and other propagation material as well as to the harvestable parts of these plants.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae that is grown as a vegetable. The consumable parts of spinach are the leaves from the vegetative stage. Spinach is sold loose, bunched, in prepackaged bags, canned, or frozen. There are three basic types of spinach, namely savoy, semi-savoy and smooth. Savoy has dark green, crinkly and curly leaves. Flat or smooth leaf spinach has broad smooth leaves. Semi-savoy is a variety with slightly crinkled leaves. The main market for spinach is baby-leaf. Baby spinach leaves are usually of the flat-leaf variety and no longer than about eight centimeter. These tender, sweet leaves are sold loose rather than in bunches. It is often used in salads, but can also be lightly cooked.

Citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present inventors have now developed a new type of spinach plant that has substantially more leaves per plant as compared to existing spinach plants. This highly increases the efficiency of spinach production as more leaves may be harvested per seed. The substantially more leaves per plant are found in the vegetative plant stage, at which the plants are harvested for consumption.

The new trait, which is called herein the “multileaf trait” is as found in plants of which representative seeds are deposited on 29th of Apr. 2009 with NCIMB Ltd, Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619. The phenotypic trait is the result of a heritable genetic determinant that is present in the genome of the deposited seeds and may be introduced into any plant that does not carry the multileaf phenotype by introgession from plants grown from seeds of which a representative sample was deposited under accession number NCIMB 41619. The genetic trait is monogenic recessive. When homozygously present in the genome of a spinach plant the genetic determinant leads to the multileaf trait or multileaf phenotype, which trait leads to the plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

The new multileaf trait may thus be defined as having at least 1.25 times, preferably at least 1.5 times, more preferably at least 2 times, most preferably at least 2.5 times as many leaves per plant as a plant that does not carry the multileaf trait. The comparison is made between plants in the same developmental stage. Suitably this stage is the vegetative plant stage (approx. 7 weeks after sowing).

The multileaf trait of the invention may be introduced into any other spinach plant, irrespective of leaf type (smooth, semi-savoy or savoy) or leaf morphology (smooth, weakly to strongly incised) or any other characteristic.

The invention relates to spinach plants obtainable by crossing a first spinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plant that has the “multileaf trait” as found in plants of which representative seed was deposited under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619 to obtain F1 plants, subsequently selfing plants of the F1 to obtain the F2 generation and selecting plants from the F2 that have the multileaf trait as plants of the invention.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to not encompass within the invention any previously known product, process of making the product, or method of using the product such that Applicants reserve the right and hereby disclose a disclaimer of any previously known product, process, or method. It is further noted that the invention does not intend to encompass within the scope of the invention any product, process, or making of the product or method of using the product, which does not meet the written description and enablement requirements of the USPTO (35 U.S.C. §112, first paragraph) or the EPO (Article 83 of the EPC), such that Applicants reserve the right and hereby disclose a disclaimer of any previously described product, process of making the product, or method of using the product.

It is noted that in this disclosure and particularly in the claims and/or paragraphs, terms such as “comprises”, “comprised”, “comprising” and the like can have the meaning attributed to it in U.S. Patent law; e.g., they can mean “includes”, “included”, “including”, and the like; and that terms such as “consisting essentially of” and “consists essentially of” have the meaning ascribed to them in U.S. Patent law, e.g., they allow for elements not explicitly recited, but exclude elements that are found in the prior art or that affect a basic or novel characteristic of the invention.

These and other embodiments are disclosed or are obvious from and encompassed by, the following Detailed Description.

Deposits

The Deposits with NCIMB Ltd, Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK, under deposit accession number 41619 were made pursuant to the terms of the Budapest Treaty. Upon issuance of a patent, all restrictions upon the deposit will be removed, and the deposit is intended to meet the requirements of 37 CFR §§1.801-1.809. The deposit will be maintained in the depository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the last request, or for the effective life of the patent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if necessary during that period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description, given by way of example, but not intended to limit the invention solely to the specific embodiments described, may best be understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the number of fully developed leaves as a function of time of plants of the invention in comparison with spinach plants not having the multileaf trait.

FIG. 2 shows a comparison between a plant of the invention (left) and a prior art plant.

FIG. 3 shows the separate leaves of a plant of the invention (left) and a prior art plant (Matricks). Both were grown under the same conditions.

FIG. 4 shows a normal plant (left) and a multileaf plant (right) from F2 1.1.

FIG. 5 shows a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F2 2.1.

FIG. 6 shows a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F2 2.2.

FIG. 7 shows a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F2 2.3.

FIG. 8 shows a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F2 3.1.

FIG. 9 shows at the top a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F2 3.2 and at the bottom the dissected leaves of a multileaf plant (right) and the normal plant (left).

FIG. 10 shows at the top a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F2 3.3 and at the bottom the dissected leaves of a multileaf plant (left) and the normal plant (right).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a new type of spinach plants that have significantly more leaves per plant as compared to known spinach plants.

The greenhouse trials in which the multileaf trait was investigated were performed in different growing seasons including August, October, and January. Independently of the growing season the multileaf type produced significantly more leaves compared to the controls.

When plants were harvested at baby-leaf stage, i.e. an earlier developmental stage, spinach plants of the multileaf type already produced significantly more leaves than the controls. The trait is thus independent of the developmental stage. However, the multileaf trait is based on comparison between plants that are in substantially the same developmental stage, in particular the vegetative stage, more in particular approximately 7 weeks after sowing. Thus, at substantially the same developmental stage spinach plants of the invention carrying the multileaf trait have a higher number of leaves than spinach plants not carrying the multileaf trait.

Moreover, it was found in multileaf spinach plants that the rate of leaf emergence is accelerated in comparison to other spinach plants not carrying the multileaf trait and grown simultaneously at equal conditions.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a spinach plant which carries a genetic determinant that leads to the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is obtainable by introgression of the genetic determinant from a spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. In one embodiment, the trait is introduced into the spinach plant from a spinach plant grown from seed that was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619 or a progeny plant thereof.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a spinach plant that carries a genetic determinant that leads to the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is introgressed from a plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. In one embodiment, the trait is introgressed from a plant grown from seed that was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619 or a progeny plant thereof.

“Introgression” as used herein is intended to mean introduction of a trait into a plant not carrying the trait by means of crossing and selection. Introgression leads to the genetic information, i.e. the genetic determinant, underlying the phenotypic trait to be introduced into the plant not carrying the determinant and not showing the phenotype. Descendants of the initial cross between the multileaf parent and the normal, i.e. non-multileaf, parent, in particular part of the plants of the F2 progeny, show the phenotype and thus carry the trait and the genetic determinant. Such plants are thus plants of the invention that have acquired the trait and the underlying genetic determinant by introgression.

It should be noted that if the selection criterion or criteria is or are clearly defined, the skilled person will be able to identify the descendants that carry the trait in any further generation. For the trait of the invention descendants from a cross between a plant not carrying the multileaf trait and a plant carrying the multileaf trait as found in plants of which representative seeds was deposited under accession number NCIMB 41619 may thus be identified by growing F2 plants from seeds that are the result from the initial cross and a selfing step, selecting plants producing at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the trait as multileaf plants.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to spinach plants obtainable by crossing a first spinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plant that has the multileaf trait as found in plants of which representative seed was deposited under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619 to obtain an F1, subsequently selfing plants of the F1 to obtain an F2 and selecting plants from the F2 that have the multileaf trait as plants of the invention. The multileaf trait is transferred in a pattern consistent with recessive inheritance.

In one embodiment the second spinach parent plant is a plant grown from the deposited seeds. In one embodiment the second spinach parent plant is a progeny plant of a plant grown from the deposited seeds. In one embodiment the second spinach parent plant is a plant having the genetic information that encodes the multileaf phenotype, i.e. the genetic determinant underlying the multileaf phenotype. In one embodiment this genetic information is substantially identical to the genetic information that encodes the multileaf trait as found in plants of which representative seeds were deposited under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619, in particular plants grown from seeds as deposited under deposit accession number 41619.

In one embodiment, the invention thus relates to a spinach plant, showing the trait multileaf, which plant is obtainable by:

-   -   a) growing plants representative seed of which was deposited         under NCIMB number 41619;     -   b) crossing a plant from step a) with a spinach plant that does         not have the multileaf trait to obtain an F1 population;     -   c) selfing plants from the F1 to obtain a F2 population; and     -   d) identifying plants showing the multileaf trait in the F2         population as multileaf spinach plants.

In the method described above steps c) and d) may be repeated one or more times by selfing an Fn population to obtain an Fn+1 population and identifying plants showing the multileaf trait in the Fn+1 population as multileaf spinach plants.

The multileaf trait is phenotypically visible because plants form significantly more leaves. The trait is however caused by the plant's genotype. The genotype as far as it concerns the multileaf trait is the same or a similar genotype as found in the deposited seeds. The part of the genotype of a spinach plant that causes the multileaf trait will be called herein the “genetic information that encodes the multileaf trait” or “the genetic determinant”. Presence of this genetic information is phenotypically visible and plants having this genetic information may thus be selected on the basis of this phenotypic expression of the underlying gene or genes. As used herein “genetic information” or “genetic determinant” is intended to mean the gene or genes that are responsible for the formation of significantly more leaves.

The presence of the genetic information that is responsible for the multileaf trait of the invention in the genome of a plant that shows a multileaf characteristic may be determined with the following test. The plant to be tested should be or should be made homozygous for the genetic information responsible for the multileaf trait. The skilled person knows how to obtain a plant that is homozygous for the trait to be tested.

This plant is then crossed with a tester plant that carries the genetic information that is responsible for the trait of the invention in homozygous condition. If the plant to be tested has a multileaf characteristic as a result of the same genetic information that is responsible for the trait of the invention, all progeny plants of the first cross and successive generations will express the trait. If the multileaf characteristic of the plant to be tested is the result of a different part of the genome, e.g. another gene or locus, segregation will occur. The tester plant may be any plant that carries the genetic information of the invention in homozygous condition, such as plants of which representative seed was deposited under accession number NCIMB 41619 or plants directly grown from the deposited seeds or progeny thereof that has retained the trait.

In one embodiment of the invention a spinach plant is provided that may comprise the multileaf trait and thus when crossed with a tester plant, that may comprise the multileaf trait of the invention and representative seed of which as deposited with the NCIMB under accession numbers a NCIMB 41619, or a progeny plant thereof that may comprise the multileaf trait comprised in spinach plants representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619 or a plant derived therefrom and which may comprise the multileaf trait, plants of the first generation progeny (F1) of said cross show a 1:0 segregation for the multileaf trait. In both the tester plant and the plant of the invention the multileaf trait is present in homozygous condition. Plants of the second and further generations, if obtained by selfing also show a 1:0 segregation for the multileaf trait. The tester plant may be a plant of which representative seed was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. When the genetic information responsible for the multileaf trait as contained in the deposit is present in a plant, the plant is a plant of the invention.

The multileaf characteristic of the invention has a genetic basis in the genome of the spinach plant. With the above described cross with a tester plant, plants may be identified as being plants of the invention.

The multileaf trait is independent of other traits of a spinach plant. The trait may thus occur in spinach plants that are completely different in all their other characteristics, for example in different spinach varieties.

The deposited spinach seeds contain in their genome the genetic information that encodes the multileaf trait. The deposited seeds are thus a source for the genetic information that leads to the trait. The skilled person is capable of introducing the trait into any other spinach plant he desires. A plant resulting from the initial cross between a first spinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plant that contains the genetic information responsible for the multileaf trait, cannot yet be identified as being a plant of the invention. Therefore, an F2 generation is produced by selfing plants of the F1 and assessing the number of leaves of the F2 progeny plant and comparing it with the number of leaves of the first parent plant. If this number is at least 1.25 times higher than the number of leaves in the first parent plant, the progeny plant is a plant of the invention.

It is clear that a parent that provides the trait of the invention is not necessarily a plant grown directly from the deposited seeds. The parent may also be a progeny plant from the seed or a progeny plant from seeds that are identified to have or to have acquired the trait of the invention by other means.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to spinach plants that carry the trait of the invention and have acquired said trait by introduction of the genetic information that is responsible for the trait from a suitable source, either by conventional breeding, or genetic modification, in particular by cisgenesis or transgenesis. Cisgenesis is genetic modification of plants with a natural gene, coding for an (agricultural) trait, from the crop plant itself or from a sexually compatible donor plant. Transgenesis is genetic modification of a plant with a gene from a non-crossable species or a synthetic gene.

In one embodiment, the source from which the genetic information is acquired is formed by plants grown from the deposited seeds or sexual or vegetative descendants thereof.

The invention further relates to propagation material for producing plants of the invention. Such propagation material may comprise inter alia seeds of the claimed plant and parts of the plant that are suitable for sexual reproduction. Such parts are for example selected from the group consisting of seeds, microspores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs and egg cells. In addition, the invention relates to propagation material which may comprise parts of the plant that are suitable for vegetative reproduction, in particular cuttings, roots, stems, cells, protoplasts.

According to a further aspect thereof the propagation material of the invention may comprise a tissue culture of the claimed plant. The tissue culture may comprise regenerable cells. Such tissue culture may be derived from leaves, pollen, embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls, meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, seeds and stems.

According to another aspect of the invention Spinacia oleracea plants are provided that have all of the morphological and physiological characteristics corresponding to the multileaf trait of multileaf spinach plants of the invention, representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41619, which plants are grown from seeds of a plant of the invention or regenerated from parts thereof, or from a tissue culture. Plants of the invention should have the morphological and physiological characteristics that correspond with the multileaf trait but do not necessarily have all the other characteristics of plants of the deposited seeds. The trait is broadly transferrable over multiple spinach types and varieties.

The invention also relates to progeny of the spinach plants of the invention. Such progeny may be produced by sexual or vegetative reproduction of a plant of the invention or a progeny plant thereof. The regenerated progeny plant shows the multileaf characteristic in the same or a similar way as the plant, of which representative seed was deposited (NCIMN 41619). This means that such progeny has the same characteristics as claimed for the spinach plants of the invention and suitably the underlying genetic determinant that leads to the multileaf phenotype. In addition to this, the plant may be modified in one or more other characteristics. Such additional modifications are for example effected by mutagenesis or by transformation with a transgene or cisgene. Alternatively, modifications in characteristics other than the multileaf trait may be introduced by introducing the multileaf trait in a different background.

As used herein the word “progeny” is intended to mean the offspring or the first and all further descendants from a cross with a plant of the invention that shows multileaf characteristics. Progeny of the invention are descendants of any cross with a plant of the invention that carries the multileaf trait.

“Progeny” also encompasses plants that carry the trait of the invention which are obtained from other plants of the invention by vegetative propagation or multiplication.

In one embodiment, the progeny plant has all of the morphological and physiological characteristics of the claimed plant in respect of the multileaf trait, representative seed of which having been deposited under accession number NCIMB 41619. Such progeny has the same multileaf characteristics as claimed for the plant of the invention and may be modified in one or more other characteristics.

The invention further relates to cells of multileaf spinach plants as described herein. The cells comprise the genetic information that leads to the multileaf trait as described herein. Suitably, this genetic information is substantially identical, preferably completely identical to the genetic information encoding the multileaf trait of plants that have all of the morphological and physiological characteristics pertaining to the multileaf trait of multileaf spinach plants of the invention, representative seed of which having been deposited under accession number NCIMB 41619. Preferably, the cell of the invention is part of a plant or plant part, but the cell may also be in isolated form.

In one embodiment the plants of the invention are plants grown from seeds having the deposit accession number NCIMB 41619.

In one embodiment the plants of the invention are progeny plants of plants grown from seeds having the deposit accession number NCIMB 41619 that carry the multileaf trait.

In one embodiment the plants of the invention are plants that carry in their genome the genetic information that is responsible for the multileaf trait by causing the plant to form significantly more leaves than a plant not having the said genetic information in its genome.

The spinach plants according to the invention may be of the following types: savoy, semi-savoy and smooth or any other type.

The invention, furthermore, relates to hybrid seed and to a method of producing hybrid seed which may comprise crossing a first parent plant with a second parent plant and harvesting the resultant hybrid seed. In order for the hybrid seed to express the trait of the invention, both parent plants need to be homozygous for the multileaf trait but not necessarily uniform for other traits.

The invention also relates to the germplasm of plants of the invention. The germplasm is constituted by all inherited or inheritable characteristics of an organism and according to the invention encompasses at least the multileaf trait of the invention.

The invention also relates to the multileaf spinach leaves that are produced by the plants of the invention and marketed as vegetables, either as fresh vegetables or processed, i.e. cooked, and optionally frozen.

In this specification the term “multileaf trait” is intended to mean having the genetic information or the genetic determinant that in homozygous state leads to the plant growing 1.25 times as many leaves as the same spinach plant not having the said genetic information and which trait is as found in plants of which representative seeds were deposited under accession number NCIMB 41619, in particular in plants grown from the deposited seeds. “The same spinach plant” is in particular a plant having the same genetic background, for example a non-multileaf plant as found in an F2 population that segregates for the multileaf trait.

“Significantly more” is in one embodiment at least 1.25 times the number of leaves of a plant that does not carry the genetic information responsible for the multileaf trait. In one embodiment significantly more is at least 1.5 times, in particular at least 2 times the number of leaves. In one embodiment significantly more is 2.5 times the number of leaves.

The invention further relates to a container which may comprise one or more plants of the invention in a growth substrate for harvest of leaves from the plant in a domestic environment. This way the consumer may pick very fresh leaves for use in salads.

The present invention will be further illustrated in the examples that follow and which are not intended to limit the invention in any way.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

The present invention will be further illustrated in the following Examples which are given for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention in any way.

EXAMPLES Example 1

The Multileaf Trait

Plants of the invention were obtained by growing seeds that have the multileaf characteristic as found in seeds that were deposited under accession number NCIMB 41619. Seeds were sown on 5 cm plant cubes and allowed to germinate under greenhouse conditions. After 6 days germinated plants were transferred to a cabrio greenhouse (October 2009, allowing typical frost-free fall-specific growth). Three weeks after sowing plants were transplanted to pots with a diameter of 12 cm and the number of leaves was counted at several time points during development. Plants of different commercially available spinach varieties (Bizon (RZ), Cheetah (RZ), Puma (51-57) (RZ), Rhino (RZ), F1 Prius (Seminis), Matricks (Sumito) and F1 Scoop (Seminis) were grown under the same conditions. Of each group 12 plants were monitored for a period of 16 weeks and the average number of leaves per plant were calculated for each time point (from 8 October to end December 2009). The results are shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows the comparison between a plant of the invention (202) and a prior art spinach plant of the cultivar Matricks (208, both grown under identical greenhouse conditions). It is clearly visible that the spinach plant of the invention has more leaves than Matricks.

The same difference is shown in FIG. 3. The left panel shows all the leaves of a plant of the invention (102) and the right panel shows all the leaves of a Matricks plant (108). The plant of the invention has significantly more leaves. Again both were grown in identical conditions and for an identical growth period.

Example 2

Introduction of the Multileaf Trait into other Plants

Multileaf spinach plants of the invention grown from seeds of which a representative sample was deposited under NCIMB accession number 41619 were crossed with 3 different spinach plants not carrying the multileaf trait. All F1 plants of the 3 different crosses did not contain any plants carrying the multileaf trait of the invention (see Table 1). Selfing of a plant of the F1 population resulted in a population of F2 plants segregating for the multileaf trait (see Table 1).

For a monogenic recessive inheritance the expected segregation ratio is 1:3. None of the F2 populations significantly deviates from this expected ratio according to a chi-square test, because no chi-square value below 0.05 was observed. Therefore, it can be concluded that the multileaf trait is a monogenic recessive trait.

TABLE 1 Normal Multileaf Cross plants plants F1 Deposited multileaf plant x plant 1 7 0 (Plant 1 not carrying the multileaf trait) 1.1 F2 obtained after selfing of a single 60 16 F1 plant F1 Deposited multileaf plant x plant 2 7 0 (Plant 2 not carrying the multileaf trait) 2.1 F2 obtained after selfing of a single 30 6 F1 plant 2.2 F2 obtained after selfing of a single 37 9 F1 plant 2.3 F2 obtained after selfing of a single 22 4 F1 plant F1 Deposited multileaf plant x plant 3 6 0 (Plant 3 not carrying the multileaf trait) 3.1 F2 obtained after selfing of a single 37 13 F1 plant 3.2 F2 obtained after selfing of a single 35 5 F1 plant 3.3 F2 obtained after selfing of a single 36 8 F1 plant

FIGS. 4-9 show a multileaf plant according to the invention and a plant not carrying the trait of the invention from each F2 population. It follows furthermore from FIG. 10 that plants of the invention produce substantially more leaves than a normal plant.

The invention is further described by the following numbered paragraphs:

1. A spinach plant which carries a genetic determinant that when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait which leads to the plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is obtainable by introgression from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619.

2. Spinach plant of paragraph 1, which carries a genetic determinant that when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait which leads to the plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is introgressed from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619.

3. Spinach plant of paragraph 1 or 2, which plant has at least 1.5 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

4. Spinach plant of paragraph 1 or 2, which plant has at least 2 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

5. Spinach plant of paragraph 1, 2 or 3, which plant has at least 2 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

6. A spinach plant comprising a genetic determinant that when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait of any one of paragraphs 1-5, obtainable by crossing a first spinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plant that has the multileaf trait as found in plants of which representative seed was deposited under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619 to obtain an F1, subsequently selfing plants of the F1 to obtain an F2 and selecting plants from the F2 that have the multileaf trait as plants of the invention.

7. Progeny plant of a spinach plant of any one of paragraphs 1-6 carrying the multileaf trait and having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

8. Propagation material suitable for producing a spinach plant of any one of the paragraphs 1-7, wherein the propagation material is selected from seeds, parts of the plant that are suitable for sexual reproduction, in particular microspores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs and egg cells, parts of the plant that are suitable for vegetative reproduction, in particular cuttings, roots, stems, cells and protoplasts, tissue cultures of regenerable cells, parts of the plant that are suitable for preparing tissue cultures, in particular leaves, pollen, embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls, meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, seeds and stems, wherein the plant produced from the propagation material carries the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

9. Spinach plant produced from the propagation material of paragraph 8 which carries the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

10. Spinach plant of paragraph 9, wherein cells of the plant contain genetic material encoding the multileaf trait.

11. Cell of a spinach plant of any one of paragraphs 1-7 and 9-10, which cell comprises genetic information encoding the multileaf trait which genetic information when homozygously present leads to the spinach plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait, in particular genetic information which is substantially identical, preferably completely identical to the genetic information encoding the multileaf trait of spinach plants that have all of the morphological and physiological characteristics of multileaf spinach plants, representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41619.

12. Cell of paragraph 11, which cell is part of a spinach plant.

13. Container comprising one or more spinach plants of any one of paragraphs 1-7 and 9-10 in a growth substrate for harvest of leaves from the spinach plant in a domestic environment.

Having thus described in detail preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention defined by the above paragraphs is not to be limited to particular details set forth in the above description as many apparent variations thereof are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. 

1. A spinach plant which carries a genetic determinant that when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait which leads to the plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is obtainable by introgession from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB
 41619. 2. The spinach plant as claimed in claim 1, which carries a genetic determinant that when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait which leads to the plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is introgressed from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with tie NCIMB under accession number NCIMB
 41619. 3. The spinach plant as claimed in claim 1, which plant has at least 1.5 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.
 4. The spinach plant as claimed in claim 1, which plant has at least 2 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.
 5. The spinach plant as claimed in claim 1, which plant has at least 2 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.
 6. A spinach plant comprising a genetic determinant that when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait as claimed in claim 1, obtainable by crossing a first spinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plant that has the multileaf trait as found in plants of which representative seed was deposited under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619 to obtain an F1, subsequently selling plants of the F1 to obtain an F2 and selecting plants from the F2 that have the multileaf trait as plants of the invention.
 7. A progeny plant of a spinach plant as claimed in claim 1 carrying the multileaf trait and having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.
 8. A propagation material suitable for producing a spinach plant as claimed in claims 1, wherein the propagation material is selected from seeds, parts of the plant that are suitable for sexual reproduction, in particular microspores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs and egg cells, parts of the plant that are suitable for vegetative reproduction, in particular cuttings, roots, stems, cells and protoplasts, tissue cultures of regenerable cells, parts of the plant that are suitable for preparing tissue cultures, in particular leaves, pollen, embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls, meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, seeds and stems, wherein the plant produced from the propagation material carries the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.
 9. A spinach plant produced from the propagation material as claimed in claim 8 which carries the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait.
 10. The spinach plant as claimed in claim 9, wherein cells of the plant contain genetic material encoding the multileaf trait.
 11. A cell of a spinach plant as claimed in claim 1, which cell comprises genetic information encoding the multileaf trait which genetic information when homozygously present leads to the spinach plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait, in particular genetic information which is substantially identical, preferably completely identical to the genetic information encoding the multileaf trait of spinach plants that have all of the morphological and physiological characteristics of multileaf spinach plants, representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB
 41619. 12. The cell as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cell is part of a spinach plant.
 13. A container comprising one or more spinach plants as claimed in claim 1 in a growth substrate for harvest of leaves from the spinach plant in a domestic environment. 